Metal shelving



G. D. WIEPERT METAL SHELVING Dec. 19, 1933.

Filed-May 7, i952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 19, 1933. 5 D, W|EPERT 1,940,281

METAL SHELVING Filed May 7, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 19, 1933 UNITED STATES METAL SHELVING George Douglas Wiepert, New Haven; Conn., as-

signor to Sargent & Conn., a corporation Company, New Haven, of Connecticut Application May'l, 1932. Serial No. 609,849

7 Claims.

My invention relates to shelving and more particularly to shelves made of metal and provided with means whereby they may be readily secured to a wall or other vertical surface. Shelves of this character may be made of material of relatively light weight andat the same time be strong and durable, and will not only be more sanitary than the ordinary wooden shelf, but

will be more easily kept clean and may be given a a decorative finish to correspond to the finish of thekitchen, closet,'bathroom, or other room in which they may be used.

One object of the invention is to provide a shelf of sheet metal which may be economically made, and which will at the same time be durable and present a pleasing appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a metal shelf with means by which it may be secured to a wall or vertical surface readily, and at, the same time rigidly so that there will be no danger of its becoming loose.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shelf of this character with folding brackets and with a retaining member by which it may be secured upon the, wall, such that when the shelf is detached from the retaining member,

and the brackets folded, it will occupy a small space and, therefore, may be handled andshipped in compact form.

Another object of the invention is to provide a metal shelf which will be relatively economical, light and durable, and which may be installed by anyone and will not require for installation the services of a skilled workman.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a shelf embodying my invention, the shelf being shown in its operative position upon a vertical wall;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the shelf Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5'5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the retaining or supporting member for the shelf;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line '7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but showing the supporting member secured on the wall, and

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view of the shelf alone.

. To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown a shelf comprising an upper body or supporting member 10 having a flange 11 depending therefrom on each of its four sides, the member 10 being substantially rectangular in the form shown in the drawings. This member, comprising the upper surface 10 and the four depending flanges 11, forms the main body member of the shelf and is made from a single piece of material, the material being cut adjacent the corners so that the flanges 11 may be turned downwardly from the surface of supporting portion 10. The material is cut at the corners in such a manner that a rectangular piece 12 will remain at each corner to be folded against the adjacent flange 11 and riveted thereto by the rivet 13. In this manner, the flanges will be securely fixed in place, and the shelf will present a solid substantial appearance.

'Bracket members 14 are hinged at each end of the shelf and are secured to the front and back flanges 11 by means of the rivets 13, these rivets performing the double function of securing the shelf flanges together and hinging the brackets to the shelf body. As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, when the shelf is not in use, or when it is to be packed for shipping, the brackets 14 are folded below the member 10 and lie within the outline of the flanges 11 so that the depth or thickness of the shelf when it is packed does not exceed the width of the flanges.

Rectangular members 12 are provided with lugs 15 struck up from the body of these sections and formed integrally therewith to serve as stops for the brackets 14 and hold them in operative position, as these brackets may not be secured to the wall when the shelf is installed. The brackets may be easily folded, and in so doing they pass over the lugs 15 when slight pressure is applied thereto. Ordinarily, however, these lugs will hold them in place and prevent movement of the brackets toward folded position.

About both ends and the. front of the shelf, the material thereof is formed to present a bead 16 which serves the double purpose of ornamenting the article to some extent and also strengthening the edge so that it will not readily lose its shape or become dented. It will be seen, therefore, that each of the depending flanges is but a single thickness of material with a relatively thin edge.

In order to hold the shelf in position, I provide a retaining or securing member 17 shown more particularly in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. This member comprises a back or body portion 18 of substantially the same length as the shelf. At the lower edge of the back portion, the material thereof is turned upwardly as at 19 in U shaped form so as to provide a channel 20 which will, of course, be open at the ends. The up-turned portion or lip 19 of the supporting member is shorter than the shelf and shorter than the back portion 18. At its upper edge, the lip member 19, is turned outwardly to some extent, as shown at 21, in order to provide a mouth leading into the recess or channel 20.

It will be understood that when the member 18 has been secured upon the wall, as shown in Fig. 3, the shelf is secured thereto by inserting the flange 11 along the back of the shelf into the recess or channel between the members 18 and 19. The member 19 being of less length than that of the shelf does not interfere with the brackets .14 or the rectangular securing members 12.

The member 18 is provided with nail holes 22 through which nails or other securing members may be passed to secure the member 18 rigidly in place. These nail holes may be made by punching rearwardly a small tongue of metal 23 to leave the opening 22. It will be noted that the tongue 23 is not punched out at right angles to the plane of the member 18, but inclines downwardly-therefrom at an acute angle. This serves to guide the nails or other securing members 24 into the wall at the proper angle, as shown in Figs. 3 and 8. In other words, this tongue 23, together with the lower edge of the opening 22 is in effect an inclined opening through the member 18 which will guide the nail into the wall at the proper angle.

It will be noted that, as shown in Fig. 2, the rear edge 25 of the bracket 14 does not lie at exactly a right angle with respect to the upper surface of the shelf. This edge of the bracket 14 is so formed as to extend rearwardly, to some extent, so that at its extreme edge, it will lie against the wall when the shelf is in horizontal position, notwithstanding the fact that the upper end of the bracket, or that end which is secured to the shelf, will be held out from the wall, to some extent, by the thickness of the securing or supporting member 17, and the thickness of the shelf itself. If this arrangement were not provided, the shelf would not be horizontal, but would incline toward the front edge, which would be undesirable.

It is noted that the member 18 extends upwardly above the top portion 10 of the shelf, as shown more especially in Fig. 3. This presents a substantial surface at the back of the shelf adjacent' the wall to protect the wall from being marred by contact with articles placed on the shelf and also to protect the wall from being soiled when the shelf is washed or cleaned. The bead 16 which extends about the three outside edges of the shelf is also useful in preventing any tendency of articles placed upon the shelf to roll or slide therefrom.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understoodthat it is not to be limited to all details shown but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A shelf formed of sheet material and consisting of a substantially flat member having integrally formed flanges turned at substantially right angles to the plane of said member, said flanges having portions overlapping at their meeting edges, members passing through said overlapping portions to secure the flanges together, brackets hinged to said flanges, and saidv members passing through said brackets and serving as pivot members for the brackets.

2. A shelf formed of sheet materialand comprising a substantially flat supporting member adapted to be disposed in a horizontal position, said supporting member having downwardly turned, integrally formed flanges at the edges thereof, each of said flanges having an end portion thereof turned to overlap the end of the adjacent flange, brackets having their upper ends disposed adjacent the flanges, and common means to secure the overlapping portions of the flanges together and to pivotally connect the brackets to the flanges.

3. A shelf formed of sheet material and comprising a substantially flat supporting member adapted to be disposed in a horizontal position, said supporting member having downwardly turned, integrally formed flanges at the edges thereof, each of said flanges having an end portion thereof turned to overlap the end of the adjacent flange, brackets having their upper ends disposed adjacent the flanges, and common means to secure the overlapping portions of the flanges together and to pivotally connect the brackets to the flanges, said flanges having struck up portions thereonto engage the brackets and releasably hold them in operative position.

i. A shelf formed of sheet material and comprising a substantially flat supporting member adapted to be disposed in a horizontal position, said supporting member having downwardly turned, integrally formed flanges at the edges thereof, each of said flanges having an end portion thereof turned'to overlap the end of the adjacent flange, brackets having their upper ends disposed adjacent the flanges, and common means to secure the overlapping portions of the flanges together and to pivotally secure the brackets to the flanges, the width of said flanges being at least equal to that of the brackets whereby, the brackets may be folded to lie within the outline of the flanges.

5. A shelf made of sheet material, said shelf comprising a securing portion and a shelf portion, securing portion having a back portion to be placed against the surface of a wall or the like and be secured thereto, an upturned lip at its lower end forming a channel with the said back, said shelf comprising a substantially plane body member having an integrally formed flange along its rear edge and turned. at substantially right angles to the body member, said flange being adapted to be inserted in the said channel to support the shelf in place, brackets hingedly connected to the shelf at one end and depending therefrom to bear against the wall at the other end thereof, and said back portion having tongues struck rearwardly therefrom to provide openings therein, said tongues being rearwardly and downwardly inclined from the back member.

6. A supporting member for a shelf or the like, said member comprising a substantially flat body portion designed to lie flat-wise againsta wall or the like and be secured thereto, said body portion having an integrally formed lip turned upwardly at the lower edge thereof to form a channel between the body portion and the lip, tongues struck rearwardly from the body portion to form openings therein, and said tongues being inclined rearwardly and downwardly from the body portion to hold fastening members inserted through said openings in an inclined position and a shelf having an integrally formed flange received in said channel. 1

7. A shelf formed of sheet material comprising a substantially flat supporting member having downwardly turned integrally formed flanges at theedges thereof, said flanges being secured to--v gether adjacent the corners of the shelf, and bracket members of substantially triangular form hin edly secured to said flanges whereby said brackets may be folded to lie within the outline of the flanges when the shelf is not in use.

GEORGE DOUGLAS WIEPER'I. 

